Director John Landis is responsible for revitalizing the teen college
comedy with 'Animal House,' reinventing the whole concept of
comedy/horror in 'American Werewolf in London' and being among the
first filmmakers to showcase the work of makeup effects hero Rick
Baker. In other words, the man has achieved enough to warrant being cut
some slack.

In fact, 'Spies Like Us' isn't offensive, mean-spirited or even
particularly dumb. It just slides back and forth from being mildly
amusing to pretty dull, with a few bits of good plotting and
respectable visual effects to make us think that under other
circumstances, it could have been a whole lot better.

Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, in their first feature together
post-"Saturday Night Live," respectively play Austin and Emmett, two
low-level U.S. government functionaries who are given completely
unexpected promotions to top-secret status. Unbeknownst to the pair,
they are meant to serve as expendable decoys while a pair of real
super-agents carry out a mission overseas.

There's nothing wrong with the premise of the script by Aykroyd, Lowell
Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, from a story Aykroyd wrote with Dave Thomas,
but the jokes seem either too obvious or too muted. Watching Austin and
Emmett fumble through every obstacle in their path becomes fairly
predictable. Chase's smarmy screen persona is entertaining in small
doses, but the film unwisely pauses to give him love scenes; Aykroyd's
earnest, socially inept techno-whiz is more likable, but 'Spies Like
Us' doesn't quite seem to know what to do with him.

The film has its moments. In Chapter 1, it opens with a great set of
visual contrasts: vivid green and red against stark white and black.
Chapter 10 has some aurally notable gunfire and Chapter 15 has some
'Raiders of the Lost'-style car-and-horse chase action that's worth
looking at for its stuntwork. Chapter 26 has rocket-launching opticals
that become more impressive when you remember 'Spies Like Us' was made
in 1985.

Landis has cast the film so that we can play spot-the-filmmaker from
start to finish: turning up onscreen in cameos are Costa Gavras, Frank
Oz, Terry Gilliam, Derek Meddings, Ray Harryhausen, Joel Coen (of the
'Fargo' Coen Brothers), Sam Raimi, Larry Cohen (of 'Q' fame, not a Coen
Brother), Michael Apted and Martin Brest, to name a few. Even Bob Hope
turns up in a brief tip of the hat to the sort of old-fashioned
squabbling buddy movie that 'Spies Like Us' doesn't manage to be.